The Birds

1963

Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Romance

Synopsis

Melanie Daniels is the modern rich socialite, part of the jet-set who always gets what she wants. When lawyer Mitch Brenner sees her in a pet shop, he plays something of a practical joke on her, and she decides to return the favor. She drives about an hour north of San Francisco to Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends the weekends with his mother Lydia and younger sister Cathy. Soon after her arrival, however, the birds in the area begin to act strangely. A seagull attacks Melanie as she is crossing the bay in a small boat, and then, Lydia finds her neighbor dead, obviously the victim of a bird attack. Soon, birds in the hundreds and thousands are attacking anyone they find out of doors. There is no explanation as to why this might be happening, and as the birds continue their vicious attacks, survival becomes the priority.

Melanie Daniels is the modern rich socialite, part of the jet-set who always gets what she wants. When lawyer Mitch Brenner sees her in a pet shop, he plays something of a practical joke on her, and she decides to return the favor. She drives about an hour north of San Francisco to Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends the weekends with his mother Lydia and younger sister Cathy. Soon after her arrival, however, the birds in the area begin to act strangely. A seagull attacks Melanie as she is crossing the bay in a small boat, and then, Lydia finds her neighbor dead, obviously the victim of a bird attack. Soon, birds in the hundreds and thousands are attacking anyone they find out of doors. There is no explanation as to why this might be happening, and as the birds continue their vicious attacks, survival becomes the priority.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by elijahbutler-4011910 / 10

One of the scariest movies I've ever seen and one of Hitchcock's greatest!

When it comes to horror movies, I love the genre and I don't usually get scared of horror movies, but MY GOD this was a TERRIFYING experience as a kid! Alfred Hitchcock, the master and the one and only master of suspense and horror has brought us many films and his most memorable and iconic films are Psycho and this film. The Birds is definitely one of the scariest movies I've ever seen and I think some reasons for that are that Alfred Hitchcock takes the suspense in this movie very dark if he needs to in certain scenes. There was also no composed score or music in this film which actually made the film feel a little realistic and it STILL terrifies me today! The acting in this film is top notch and the story is pretty solid and I thought some of the characters such as Melanie played by Tippi Hedren and Mitch Brenner played by Rod Taylor were really fleshed out throughout the majority of the film. But for me, the scariest thing about this film is that you don't know why these birds are attacking people. It's just the sense of horror that you feel in these birds when you see them hurting and killing people and it is absolutely TERRIFYING! The mystery behind this film on why these birds are going insane for no reason is absolutely frightening to watch and this has to be one of the greatest horror movies I've seen in a while and it's definitely one of the scariest movies, especially if it's made by a true legend of the genre. I love The Birds. The atmosphere of the film is disturbing and creepy and the movie itself is very scary and it's one of my all time favorite horror classics and i'm gonna give The Birds a 10/10.

Reviewed by rebeccalucy8 / 10

Great horror with amazing direction...

Very atmospheric and unique, and actually manages to make birds frightening! It really represents the 1960s style, with the fashion and acting.

The acting is quite good, Tippi Hedren being the best of all. She had a fun chemistry with Rod Taylor despite them not being shown together a lot. Some of the effects are dated but others are fantastic, such as the man with his eyes covered in blood. Hitchcock's directing is of course amazing.

Definitely a good Hitchcock film to start with, and would really recommend for any film lover.

Reviewed by zianimustafa7 / 10

The Birds

One of the masterpieces of the brilliant director Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock has succeeded in making one of the creatures that are innocent into ferocious beings.
The film talks about a coastal city in San Francisco being attacked by swarms of birds for no apparent reason.
The film begins with a romantic character, with Tippi Hedren linking with Rod Taylor and Suzanne Pleshette in a triple love story.
Melanie meets Mitch at a bird shop where she makes a joke that led her to the Mitch family's home in the coastal city north of San Francisco to deliver gifts of love.
Then the film begins to gradually escalate, starting with the bird that attacked Melanie on her head to attack the birds for a children's party to quickly climb up to bloody attackers and the scene of the viewer in a state of panic and concern about the characters after being attached to them.
The cause of these attacks may not seem obvious but the bloody and frightening attacks, as well as the sound and visual effects, have raised fear and shock in the heart of the scenes, and this is certainly what Director Alfred Hitchcock wanted.
Despite writing a closing scene, I left the end open until interpreted by the viewer as much as he wanted. In addition to the cause of bird frenzy, which remains a question mark to this day, the film has become one of the most exciting films and mystery.
The Birds is Hitchcock's last best work (and hopefully not).